Christmas (Williams-Sonoma) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "A warming, luxurious soup is an inviting and elegant opening for any holiday meal-as is a salad of winter greens, bright with the season's crisp..." (more)
Key Phrases: season with kosher salt, teaspoon fine sea salt, candied citrus peel, Orange Zabaglione, Variation Tip (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A roast goose with chestnut stuffing embodies the winter holidays as much as snow-dusted fir trees and brightly wrapped packages. Whether your tradition includes Yorkshire pudding or potatoe latkes, elegant poached pears or frosted holiday cookies, a festive meal is an essential part of celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year's Eve with friends and family.

Williams-Sonoma Collection Christmas offers an array of more than 40 time-honored favorites and tempting new ideas. An impressive roast beef or savory rack of lamb will satisfy every appetitie, while a colorful wild rice pilaf or crisp salad with persimmons adds freshness and color to any table. Start your holiday morning with panettone French toast, or for an open house, tempt guests with mulled wine and chocolate truffles. No matter what the event, the recipes in these pages will make your holiday menu a success.

Full-color photographs of each dish help you decide which one to prepare, and each recipe is accompanied by a photographic side note that highlights an essential ingredient or technique. In addition, a comprehensive basics section offers valuable tips on baking, roasting, and planning ahead, so you can more easily share joyful holiday meals with your loved ones.

About the Author

Carolyn Miller is a writier and book editor based in San Francisco. She is the author of The Christmas Table: A Holiday Menu Cookbook and coauthor of Savoring San Francisco: Recipes from the City's Neighborhood Restaurants. Her writing has also been featured in many cookbooks, including Salt and Pepper, Chocolate: A Sweet Indulgence, and Espresso: Culture and Cuisine. In addition, she has edited many cookbooks for publishers nationwide.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743253353
• ISBN-13: 978-0743253352
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #16 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Special Occasions > Christmas & Hanukkah
  #42 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Special Occasions > Holidays
  #44 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Special Occasions > Seasonal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feast your heart out!, March 8, 2005

By	H. Grove "owling6683" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There are a number of recipes that I love in theory and usually only like in practice. These recipes involve ingredients and concepts that I find very appealing, but there's just something about the way the individual recipes get executed that leaves something to be desired. Stuffed mushrooms fall into this category. Recipes like this make great test recipes when I'm evaluating a cookbook because usually their quality is highly dependent on a careful balance of flavors, good technique, and adequate kitchen-testing. So, naturally, one of the recipes we made from this cookbook was the stuffed mushroom recipe. It turned out to be the best stuffed mushroom recipe I've ever had--everything that I've always felt stuffed mushrooms ought to be but rarely were. They were buttery, slightly crispy, flavorful, easy-to-make, and absolutely delightful.

My only reservation, and it's a tiny one, is that the cookbook sometimes sticks with older, stodgier techniques when newer, faster ones do the job just as well. I'm sure it would stick in many chefs' throats to suggest that you could spray the mushrooms with olive oil cooking spray instead of painstakingly brushing them with olive oil using a pastry brush, but I did half of the mushrooms one way and half the other and honestly couldn't tell which mushrooms were which--there were no identifiable differences in the finished product.

The full-color photographs that go with the recipes are simple, elegant and lovely. The layout is easy to understand, with the different elements of the recipes set off visually from one another and the instructions broken into bite-sized chunks. The recipes are surprisingly uncomplicated, although as mentioned in some places they could be even simpler; certainly for elegant holiday fare this is easy cooking.

The point is, no matter what I pulled from this cookbook--new, old, doubtful, sure thing--it rose to the occasion. Every single recipe delighted us. Each one left us sighing with happiness. So whether you want to make crab bisque this Christmas (or Thanksgiving, or Easter, or New Year's, or other holiday of your choice), butternut squash and apple soup, rack of lamb with cranberry-chile relish, brisket braised in red wine, wild rice pilaf with dried cranberries and pecans, chocolate mousse cake, chicken hash, panettone French toast, gougeres, eggnog, or even chocolate truffles, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this cookbook. It's definitely worthy of any special occasion you might wish to celebrate.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book, February 23, 2006

By	Yevgeniya Bulayevskaya "Ultimate Chef :-)" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has amazing illustrations, and simple instructions which ake it a pleasure to use. I made a few dishes the first day I got it, they came out as beautifual and delicious as they looked in the pictures! The collection of dishes is AMAZING many are dishes I had in great restaurants and couldnt find the recipe for anywhere. I love this book!

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bueno, como todo lo de William-Sonoma, December 2, 2007

By	Laura Elena Herrera Diaz "Laurel" (Toluca, Estado de México Mexico) - See all my reviews

contiene recetas clasicas y algunas variantes novedosas como el pato relleno con castañas y poro, el arroz pilaf con arandanos deshidratados y nueces y el pudin de persimo y arandanos, ademas de sugerencias de menus y algunos secretos para hornear el pavo.